This one is for my friend’s dog, Brooklyn. She is a huntress that loves to chase deer.
About eight years ago (wow can’t believe it was that long ago already) I was in my first semester of college, freshman year, and I got a text message from my friend, Dana. I open it to find a picture of Brooklyn’s bloody face from chasing down and catching a deer! I can still see that image... I never did finish my salad with french dressing.
Completed coat of arms for Zoey. I just have to add her face!
Does the fact that there is no armor/knight make this a family crest instead of coat of arms? What is the difference between a family crest and coat of arms? I should probably look into that.
I decided to skip drawing Pumba’s face in the coat of arms and I also was not sold on how I wanted to title her .... Her Excellency Queen Pumba? Possibly. Therefore, I have temporarily moved on to drawing Zoey’s coat of arms. Zoey is roughly 10, 11 or 12 years old, she is a rescue dog from an abusive situation. She has a lot of energy, more than she probably should for her age but she is a bit more laid back than Pumba. So I decided to tone down her coat of arms in comparison to Pumba’s. The inspiration for Zoey’s coat of arms comes from her two different colored eyes, one is green and one is light blue as her obsession with snow. She abusolutely loves it, to the point that she scoops it up with her nose and eats it. I have even seen her shove her face into a few feet of fresh powder. Here is the progress so far:
Getting close to being done with the first coat of arms!
So I’ve decided to do this series I’ve been thinking about for awhile:
I want to make a coat of arms for every dog in my family as well as my best friend’s dog. Here is the in progress version of the one I am making for my parents dog, Pumba. She is almost 12 years old, a Pomeranian papillon mix that is the queen of the household. She is smart, sassy, and kind of a bitch but she can also be very loving. My goal is to have each design reflect the dog in some way, either by their personality or their favorite thing or in Jake’s case, it’ll be based off his nickname.
I feel like I am definitely struggling to keep up with making a quick sketch of something everyday. It is really a lot harder to do now than it as in college!
Hee is my quickest of quick sketches... done in roughly 5-8 minutes or something ridiculous (so quick I forgot to add teeth!). It is a sketch of the scene from Almost Famous where Penny Lane is on the tour bus and she is flicking off the group of high school girls who are running past.
Day to day challenges are very hard to keep up! It has only been five days and I’m already struggling. Sooo today I just took yesterday’s sketch and threw some pastels texture on it to see if inspiration for something would hit..... it did not.
Day 2 was the sketch, Day 3 is the progress:
Here is the sketch for yesterday that I forgot to post!
It is a design for my friend’s tattoo.
Draw something simple every day or somewhat more
difficult/detailed every week and post it on here.
Drawing #1:
Is a sketch of a Jester. I haven’t decided what I’m going to do with this... I might leave it how it is or I might go back and finish it later. We will see!
Lately I have been learning how to draw with an iPad Pro and the Apple Pencil. In order to practice and learn how to use the many brushes, I took some old work and redid it. Enjoy, there will be more to come.
The surgery for Jake is scheduled for Monday, June 11th. I will be dropping him off at 8AM for pre-op and the surgery is scheduled for 11:30AM.
His GoFundMe is finally live and active.
Now, I just do what I can to prepare for the surgery. But how do you even prepare for something like this, other than getting his room ready, or cleaning up the house a bit, there isn't much I can actually do. I wish I could prepare Jake. I wish I could explain to him that he needs this surgery and that it'll be okay. That there is nothing to fear and that I will be here for him through the recovery. But you can't explain things to a dog, they don't fully understand. All he can understand, all he feels, are my worries and my anxiety leading up to the surgery. I can do my best to hold back but there is only so much I can actually contain. I hate to leave him in the dark like this. I can't imagine the fear, confusion, or anxiety he might end up feeling before or after the surgery. I wish I could be there for him every step of the way.
Is this just a taste of the anxiety a mother feels for a new born, baby, and/or toddler when they have to go through something almost as bad, just as bad, or worse? Can I add this to the ever growing list of reasons why being a mother absolutely terrifies me?
Mothers deserve so much more than we give them.
SOOOO so so so so SOOO much more.
It is ridiculous.
I am tired of the sexism that is in the world about females, mothers, and just the woman population as whole. No person would be alive without females.
(If you're thinking we can't do it without men, well, click here)
Now, pull up your big boy pants and treat us like magnificent magical life giving (basically Gods) that we are. Because honestly, we bring life into this world. Is there any other time or way to be closer to a God than that? We're all lucky that all women are asking for is equality and to feel safe walking down the street at night.
Growing up, my Father would follow up almost everything I said to or asked him with:
"Think before you speak."
Even now, I can hear his exact tone of voice saying that as if he is sitting right next to me. This, along with "cover your mouth with your elbow when you cough or sneeze" were two statements that were said to me more than anything else. Over and over again. And again. It was so drilled into my mind that it has come to the point where I hear him say it every time I am around someone who doesn't cover their mouth when they cough or sneeze or asks the dumbest question.
Does chocolate milk come from brown cows?
- Yes, I have been asked that. -
I wonder how this has changed me as a person. Do I have less patience to handle others stupidity or rudeness because they didn't think about what they were going to say before they said it? Does it inadvertently make me more cynical towards others? Do these small statements really have that much of an affect on my life?
A co-worker recently pointed out my disdain for the average human. I wonder where it came from and how bad it might be affecting my life. If it is impacting my life, I don't think it is negatively. It is normal to dislike teenagers, rude people and those who don't have a filter, right? Am I just more vocal about it than others? Is that really a bad thing?
I have always been a pretty straight forward and blunt person. To the point that my own sibling, who should be used to this, still thinks I am being too mean. When really, I am just tired of the way we walk around on egg shells. This could be the whole passive aggressive "Minnesota Nice" thing but I really think that as a species we are too soft. Now, this doesn't mean I go around being insensitive and hurtful. Or that I am unprofessional in the work place with a client or co-worker. But if I feel that the way you're acting towards an other person is inappropriate, then I will tell you. If I feel that you are not thinking about the the third side of the story, I will tell you. If I think you're being too caught up in la la land and not thinking logically about a scenario, I will tell you. It is who I am. I do this because I care. I want you to be happy, I want you to succeed, I want you to be fulfilled and I want you to be the best version of you as possible. My bluntness is out of love and respect for you and your life. Sometimes the hard things need to be said and I will say it. Is that wrong?
Sometimes I think that we give out praise too much, too easily, and too often.
The other day I was on LinkedIn and I came across a story that a young girl (granted she could have been my age or just a few years younger) posted about her dog and being able to bring it to the a Minneapolis Target that had just advertised that they're allowing dogs to come in the store. She described how an employee there was afraid of big dogs and how one day the employee thanked her for bringing in her well behaved bigger dog as it helped the employee over come their fear of dogs. The girl went on to describe how it was a touching moment that brought tears to her eyes as she realized that such a simple joy for her was life changing for an other person.
It was a very cute story that ended up going decently viral on LinkedIn. Everyone was commenting on it with such praise and joy. Then there was me, sitting at my computer, and all I could think of... all I wanted to comment on the post was:
"Young 20-something realizes her actions has consequences beyond her own life."
Seriously! Why do we give out such praise to people who just realize a simple life lesson that most of us realized when we were ten years old?! It will continue to baffle me until it stops. Which it most likely wont.
Granted, it is probably a good thing that we share stories like these and praise them the way we do because it creates this narrative that anyone could relate to. With enough of these stories going around and with enough positivity that accompanies them, maybe it could change someone's life. Someone who is struggling to develop into a better person. Someone who was given no tools, had none to little guidance on how to be a decent person. Maybe posts like these will help them overcome and be that amazing person that is in them.
Or maybe we just need to realize that it is not praise worthy to be a decent human. It is just part of being human, and hopefully we can make it be an expectation.
I hate being asked about my religious beliefs.
My easily argued against belief is that "mainstream" religion was created as means to control an uneducated, unpoliced, widely spread, and disconnected population. We have well surpassed all of this. I do understand that I am glossing over many variables, many old religions and making a general statement here. I am not trying to push my views onto anyone or force an argument about religion. I just want people to open their minds more to the possibilities of alternative thoughts or even life without religion.
So, why do we continue to need religion? Well, of course there are many reasons but I guess the ones that stick out the most and fit where I'm going with this is that it could be basically out of fear and freedom. Fear of the unknown, fear of the after life, fear of worry, and the freedom to "know" that you don't have to fear any of that. Which is completely fair. Man, sometimes I admire the strength of those who have faith. Just being able to put your whole life in the hands of the unknown and trust that it will get you where you need to be, that takes so much courage.
Other than using religion to help with the fears and feel more of the freedom, is it necessary? Do we really need something to outline the basics of being a decent human being? Why can't we just believe we should treat everyone equally and not kill people or steal or rape or lie or cheat. Why can't we realize that we are all the same and that we are here, so we should live by the golden rule: "treat others how you want to be treated". How is it so hard to follow this? Why can't we realize that we are all one?!
You are human, strip you down and all that is left is skin covering a tangle of veins and organs layered on top of bones. Just like the person next to you, next to them, and on the other side of the planet. We are the same and we have to stop letting religion, which often (unfortunately and somehow) includes race, separate us!
Does the idea that we are all one scare people? Why would it?
Humans also have energy. Energy doesn't not dissipate, but it can transfer. What happens to that energy when you die? Can you entertain the idea that maybe that energy leaves, and then transfers itself into the collective energy that is life itself or maybe it is God? What if God is nothing but a self-conscious collection of energy from all the lives that have ever been lived on this planet, including plants and wildlife. What if our over indulgence and extreme growth in population is diminishing this stored energy, causing the amount of energy that is put into a new life to be less. Which then is creating an increase in disease, cancer, and hate of each other as we are no longer as strongly connected.
Sometimes I wonder, what if we once were connected so greatly through this energy that we could feel, hear, and understand plants and wildlife. It is an idea that a lot of older cultures hint at. For example, Native American tribes have varied beliefs but there seems to be a correlation to the idea that we are kindred spirits with animals and plants. So much so that they would ask permission of the animal's spirit to use their body for food, shelter, and clothing.
Did the thinning of the energy change the way we interact with nature and each other? Or did modern religion create a definitive way for us to separate each other?
In the words of musician Conor Oberst:
How time can move both fast and slow - amazes me
I once worked at a nursing home back in high school and college. I wasn't a caretaker, I just worked in the kitchen and then as a receptionist. But what I learned there, what I saw there and what I felt there was enough. It is enough. It is enough to last me a lifetime of wanting to have no regrets. A lifetime of wanting to grab every moment and make it worth something.
Or maybe it has created a lifetime of obsession with time. Unnecessary worry about not having enough or maybe too much.
Just enough experience to continuously feel trampled by time.
Technically we are still in Spring of 2018, but I am already really anticipating next spring!
I bought a round trip ten day ticket to Amsterdam for March, which is the latest that Delta would let me do. I was really hoping to go for April or maybe even later as I would love to see the tulip fields. I will probably just adjust the time later and pay for the difference because I used a flight voucher to purchase this ticket anyways.
But man, oh man... I am excited!! I have been wanting to go to Amsterdam since I was in Jr. High.
Right now, I have no one planned to come with me. I have a few options of people but who knows if any of them will actually stick. The idea of going solo is very exciting and I might just do that. I like the idea of being able to see what I want to see, go where I want to go, and just have a few days of taking a random trip to a random city. Maybe hoping a train and going to an other country for awhile... maybe extending the trip even. Who knows.
I just want to see everything.
I admire dogs.
Jake has been hobbling around on three legs since the last weekend of April. Three legs.
Three.
He has adapted to the hardships of his life. He has persevered through the pain, confusion, and lack of understanding about what is going on. He just continues to be the happiest dog in all the land.
Be more like Jake, full of unconditional love and happiness.
